Agenda item

To report to the new Management Committee:

a)    ongoing work recommended for inclusion in the new Overview and Scrutiny work programme by the former Management Committee, including through task groups;

b)    that an extraordinary meeting of the Management Committee will be held on 21 June to consider draft versions of the council’s new Business Plan and Digital Strategy, and the implications for the OS work programme;

c)    the referral by Full Council of Notice of Motion 40 – “Reducing Single Use Plastics” for the Management Committee’s consideration;

d)    the potential OS development areas identified by Overview and Scrutiny under the previous council, including the Overview and Scrutiny councillor learning and development programme;

A report was received outlining the work of Overview and Scrutiny in the previous council prior to the May 2017 Local Elections, including ongoing work recommended for inclusion in a new work programme, task group recommendations, the development of Overview and Scrutiny and referral of a motion from Full Council.

The Committee discussed the report and was content to approve the legacy topics recommended by the previous committee, as well as continuing the practice of holding early discussions between select committee chairmen/vice-chairmen with members of the Executive and directors in order to improve forward planning and beneficial levels of scrutiny engagement at appropriate times.

The Committee discussed the number of task groups which had been reporting directly to the management committee, and were supportive retaining the task groups in relation to Financial Planning, the Military-Civilian Integration Partnership, and the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership. It was also agreed that the scope of the MyWiltshire System Task Group be expanded to include wider aspects of digital strategy and implementation. Following discussion, it was also agreed to establish a task group under the Management Committee to consider the structure and procedures of planning committees.

Membership of these task groups, as well as appointment to the Constitution Focus Group and Wiltshire Online Project Board, would be determined by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman following expressions of interest from councillors.

It was noted that Full Council had received a motion on 21 February 2017 in relation to single use plastics, which had been referred to the Committee for consideration. Following discussion, it was agreed the matters raised in the motion should be scrutinised and the motion was referred to the Environment Select Committee for consideration on how best to scrutinise the issues.

In discussing engagement with Overview and Scrutiny, the Committee suggested that all members be reminded of the various methods for items to be brought to the attention of Overview and Scrutiny.

Finally, in consideration of the agenda supplement, it was agreed to consider topics raised by members during the councillor induction, following the next meeting of the Committee.

At the conclusion of debate, it was,

Resolved:

1.    To approve the legacy topics listed in Appendix A for inclusion in the new OS work programme and to advise the select committees accordingly.

2.    To support early discussions between select committee chairmen / vice-chairmen with the Executive and directors to gain a more informed understanding about key priorities and projects following council agreement of the new Business Plan.

3.    To agree to re-establish the task group structure at the conclusion of the previous Management Committee as follows (Appendix B):

·         Financial Planning Task Group

·         Military-Civilian Integration (MCIP) Task Group

·         Swindon & Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Task Group

      …appointing existing memberships where appropriate.

4.    To amend the My Wiltshire System Task Group’s name to the “Digital Strategy and Implementation Task Group” and its terms of reference to: “To scrutinise and support the development of the council’s Digital Strategy and its implementation”

5.    To authorise the Chairman and Vice-chairman to name councillors to fill vacancies on Management Committee task groups following expressions of interest.

6.    To establish a task group to review the council’s planning committee system, with the chairman and vice-chairman authorised to take the work forward on behalf of the committee.

7.    To authorise the Chairman and Vice-Chairman to appoint representatives to the following bodies following expressions of interest:

·         Wiltshire Online Project Board

·         Constitution Focus Group

8.    Following consideration of a Notice of Motion referred by Full Council, to support further scrutiny of the topic of waste plastic management in Wiltshire to be undertaken by the Environment Select Committee.

9.    To note the areas for OS’s development highlighted under the previous council and to include these in any review of OS’s approach and effectiveness in the new council, to take place within six months of this meeting.

10.To authorise the Chairman and Vice-chairman to re-visit the 4-year OS L&D programme to ensure it remains fit for purpose, reflects identified needs and is deliverable with the available resources, with proposals brought back to Committee as appropriate.

11.To welcome the issues raised at the OS induction event (included in Appendix D in the Agenda Supplement) and to review these following consideration of the new council Business Plan and the agreed meetings between Executive members and directors.

12.To ensure all non-executive members are aware of the formal routes available to raise issues for scrutiny attention.